Over the past two weeks, some Alberta students had a Jasper adventure and earned high school credits at the same time.
Through the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division鈥檚 (GYPSD) Learning Connection, approximately 40 high school students from around Alberta spent five days receiving credits for a core course called Career and Life Management (CALM).
The Learning Connection is an outreach program through the GYPSD and is a separate school, including its own principal and staff, that offers alternate modes of education. 鈥淚t鈥檚 for students for whom the traditional system doesn鈥檛 work for, either because they have to work or because they don鈥檛 fit into the box of our traditional system,鈥� said Jasperite and teacher Kim Wallace, who was hired by the Learning Connection for this year鈥檚 CALM class. 鈥淪tudents create their own schedule and teachers are available to them.鈥�
CALM focuses on life choices and decision-making. Throughout the five-day course, the students stayed at the Palisades Stewardship Education Centre and spent time learning inside and outside the classroom. Their adventures included horseback riding, canoeing, biking, climbing and fire starting.
In addition to three high school credits, the students received one credit for a tourism course. 鈥淛asper Career and Employment Services, Carleton Insurance, TD Bank and Tourism Jasper all helped the students to meet their outcomes during the course.鈥�
All of the students passed and 鈥渁ll enjoyed themselves,鈥� said Wallace. 鈥淭hey were amazing and respectful of each other and me.鈥�
Using outdoor activities to deliver the program was a great way to engage the students and cater to different learning types, adds Wallace. 鈥淎 program like this touches on ecological intelligence, kinesthetic intelligence and the inter/intrapersonal intelligences.
鈥淪cience shows that when kids are active and outdoors, their synapses are firing differently, they鈥檙e gaining more knowledge and experience.鈥�
Fifteen-year-old Julia Heaton from Edmonton has visited Jasper many times, and enjoyed this combination of education and tourism. 鈥淚 have learned about values and how the choices we make can affect us and we have done fun activities.鈥� She especially looked forward to horseback riding at the Pyramid Riding Stables.
This is the summer course鈥檚 fourth year in Jasper. Wallace said she is proud of the learning opportunities offered through the Palisades Stewardship Education Centre. The centre offers other high school credit courses like water experience, winter travel and stewardship of protected lands.
鈥淭he staff out at the Palisades is amazing and works so well in partnership with teaching staff. We have the potential to attract international students and have a really strong program.鈥�
There鈥檚 also the opportunity to foster more of a relationship between education and tourism, she said, because some parents spent the week in Jasper with their families while their child or children participated in CALM.
鈥淟ifelong learning certainly has a different impact on future generations as compared with continuous commercial development in our Parks.鈥�
For anyone interested in the Learning Connection, phone 1-800-723-2564 or visit the GYPSD wesbite.
Sarah Makowsky
[email protected]
